COMPARING ACRYLIC AIRBRUSH PAINTS - AMMO ATOM vs. AK 3rd GEN vs. VALLEJO MODEL AIR

New test with Atom paints: What is the new Atom paint range of Ammo designed for and how good can this paint be airbrushed compared to Model Air of Vallejo and 3rd Gen of AK? A comparison in price, consistency, handling, behaviour and finish.

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0:00 The 3 suspects
1:06 The test
5:41 The comparison

#airbrush #acrylicpainting #hobby

[norseatheart]

I recently switched to mainkly spraying ATOM after using Vallejo and AK for years. My experience with ATOM have been absolutely amazing. They selflevel better than the other two, they spray better than the other two in every regard (tipdry, smoothness and atomization, using a H&S Ultra 2024 with ~20-25 PSI, paint thinned about 50:50), and unlike any other acrylic they dry to the same saturation and tone both sprayed and brushed. (they brush great also). For me, they are the best true acrylics and they have impressed me greatly. Yes, some of the colors doesn't dry to a complete flat finish, but since when is that a problem? I don't know anyone who does not put a varnish on anyway :)

I recommend anyone to watch Panzermeister36's review of the ATOM paints.

[yvesdubois]

Thank you for this excellent demonstration, very informative on these 3 fairly similar paintings. I mainly use acrylic lacquers such as Tamiya and Gunze but would like to move towards “real” acrylics. I wonder if the 3 paints in your test can be polished with a cloth to obtain a final satin finish.

[thepiratepenguin]

This is why I love the RLM, RAL & FS codes. It allows you to match colour to text descriptions regardless of the brand's own naming convention.

[JohnMckeown-dlcl]

Thank you for your review of the Spanish Big 3 of paints. I use all three and find they all have their plusses and minuses. I have recently started using Atom paints and I find them very good. They are a different formulation and have to be used somewhat differently than previous Ammo paints. They have to be shaken more than previous Ammo acrylics because they tend to separate more when they sit. Second you used a bit too much thinner and I find that the Atom specific thinner works better than the regular Ammo thinner. They also should be applied differently than standard Ammo acrylics. Thin coats work better. They self level much better than other paints I have used and I you accidentally "flood" the surface it won't be a disaster, just don't use heavy coats and the results will be better. I agree that I don't like the new bottles very much. You have to hold them vertically to dispense paint and it makes it hard to count drops. If you hold them horizontally as most of us are used to, the paint runs down the flat area around the hole and gets messy, but they do brush paint fantastically, which I can't say of the other two.

[richardjordan]

Rusty I want to thank you for these videos. I use enamels for paint but also thinking about going to acrylics, so these videos like yours and Manns model moments help in deciding of going to this medium.also I see that the Vallejo is a thinner paint cause of some of the black base was showing through in the edges on the video.

[Unyielding_Modeller]

Thank you for your review. I already use Vallejo Model Air and AK Gen3, and I do prefer the latter. Unfortunately I’m not able to airbrush German WW2 camouflage with these acrylics. For German WW2 camouflage I still use my Mr.hobby lacquers. I'm not sure if I will test Atom because I find that there are not enough FS/RLM/BSC colours in their range.

[palamj]

Like your review and have subscribed. Keep up the good work.

[lesvenus]

Really helpful and I have subscribed. I’d like to know how they respond to Tamiya masking tape if possible. Thanks again for your help. Les

[FinsburyPhil]

How about a Hataka vs Lifecolour vs AK 3rd Gen or Model Air (as a control sample) now? My 'thinner' mix for acrylic is 70% flow improver + 30% thinner and then add 10% retarder to that. I'm using AK 3G. I have used Atom for detail brush painting and they are excellent. I'd like to try through the airbrush but I build almost exclusively RAF aircraft, so I'm waiting for an appropriate colour set to come out

[Drewsmodels]

I like Vallejo. I think the bottom line is to find a paint you like and, if it works well for you, stick with it. Thanks for the review.

[funTimesInTheSun]

I don’t think that’s the thinner for the new atom line. I also think you over thinned it.

[andrej]

Vallejo now has a new formula for 2024 that now comes in clear 18ml instead of 17ml bottles. Wonder how it compares.

[andyshaw]

I remember when I was an airbrush noob I assumed as the paint was for an airbrush it was already thinned and just used it straight from the bottle. You can imagine what happened next 😢

[alfredodelpino]

thank you for your video and dedication. I still can not understand or find any advantage acrylics have over lacquers besides the toxicity, which should be managed correctly with ventilation. Everything is difficult, takes more time or insufficient to compare with lacquers. I'm a long time fan of Mr.Color and now discovered MRP paints. I will not change even if Mig is a great guy.

[DansModelBench]

I think the Atom paint broke down because you overthinned it the first time and then made it worse by diluting it again to 50 percent. From what I could find on the Mig site they recommend 30 percent thinner to paint ratio for airbrushing. I think this is one of the acyclic paints that is meant to be sprayed with a thicker consistency then milk. Mission Models paints is another brand that comes to mind that is the same. 

Not a fan of the Atom bottle design, but according to the video from Mig I watched you are supposed to tip them completely vertical and then the drops will come out of the bottle in a controlled fashion. They specifically mention not to tip the bottle and then try and get the paint out at an angle, which is what you did and I think most of us do when handling these types of paints. I don't have an Atom bottle to try this with, but might be worth experimenting with. Unfortunately I cant find the video to link here for you, but the demo was by Mig Jimenez himself and was at some model show. He was also spraying the paints with no thinner and did make a point you don't need a lot of thinner for these paints. Perhaps you might be able to find the video on YouTube. Anyway, you might want to repeat your experiment with 30 percent thinner and perhaps no thinner at all and a higher airbrush pressure and see if you still get the spotty finish with the Ammo paint. I would be curious if with less thinner that still remains a problem for you. Thanks for putting up the video. Always interesting to see other modellers experience with paints. Cheers, Dan

[cptkretin]

Really like Vallejo paints but found Tamiya masking tape can pull the paint off, even after using Mr Surfacer primer and leaving them 48 hours to dry, so moved on to Tamiya acrylics which are lovely to use. Its just a shame Tamiya don't do more colours.

[bp]

I don't think you mixed the Atom paint sufficiently, hence the pigment spotting.
Atom is by far superior, Vallejo is far too fragile and susceptible to finger marks and damage in it's initial coat without any varnish.
It's clear to me you set out to favour Vallejo.
Regarding control of paint flow from the Atom bottle, they advise holding the bottle vertical before squeezing bottle.
Finally, I much prefer Atom thinned with Mr Thinner levelling thinner which has a great grab ability when dry.

[shellyjones]

Atom can be thinned with alcohol and lacquer thinner

[Cptpaul]

Atom also has their own thinner. I feel like you had too much pressure when you were spraying the Atom. You blasted it on there full nozzle

[pawpawstew]

I know you didn't want to go down the rabbit hole of whether the colors are accurate, but I think it's at least noting that the Atom looks green, which is completely wrong. It almost looks like a match for the IJN green that draws so much contention. The Vallejo looks gray. The only one that really looks like a light blue is the AK (middle one?). Of course, it's hard to tell via a video seen on a phone screen.